STATEMENT BY DEPUTY MINSTER FOR CLIMATE CHANGE, LEE WATERS

In 2019, I set up the independent Wales Pavement Parking Taskforce (WPPT) to help tackle anti-social pavement parking in our communities.

All ten of the Pavement Parking Taskforce’s recommendations were accepted by the Welsh Government.

We committed to work with stakeholders to further develop and refine the proposal to give Local Authorities the powers to tackle pavement parking by introducing subordinate legislation to allow civil enforcement. However, progress has been frustratingly slow.

To achieve our aim, we need the UK Government to amend existing regulations on obstruction of the road – expressly separating out obstruction of the pavement. The UK Government have committed to this but have not yet secured parliamentary time to take this forward, nor is time likely to be found in the foreseeable future.

I reconvened the Wales Pavement Parking Taskforce earlier this year and asked them to explore other ways of achieving our policy aims. The Taskforce examined the feasibility of using the existing offence of obstruction of the road to address the issue of pavement parking. This approach could deliver additional benefits, allowing local authorities in Wales to deal with both pavement parking and also parked vehicles obstructing our roads. 

The Pavement Parking Taskforce has subsequently provided an addendum to their original report and recommended that this is the best way forward. I have accepted this recommendation and now propose to consult widely prior with a view to introducing the necessary legislation by the end of 2023.